VEGAN MAKEUP BRANDS: YOUR GO-TO GUIDE

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Forget Veganuary, we’re becoming more and more conscious of the products we use – from skincare to makeup – and which ingredients they use, so we’re using vegan makeup brands all year round. We’re looking into the best vegan makeup brands, and listing them based on who’s approved them and why we think they deserve a place in your crowded beauty collection.

What is vegan makeup?

In short, vegan makeup does not include any ingredient that is derived from an animal or any animal ingredient.

Typical ingredients that aren’t vegan-friendly to look out for, but by no means exhaustive, are:

Honey

Beeswax

Lanolin

Collagen

Albumen

Carmine

Cholesterol

Gelatin

What is the difference between “Vegan” and “Cruelty-Free” makeup?

Vegan makeup does not include any ingredients that are derived from animals, whereas cruelty-free makeup is not tested on animals. These are not exclusive of one another. For example, a cruelty-free product may include animal-derived products such as honey, whereas a vegan product may have been tested on animals.

theBalm is an american cosmetics company, and aren’t currently certified by any of the above companies. However, part of their makeup range is self-certified as vegan, and some products such as mascara do not include beeswax.

A wide range of Barry M Cosmetics is deemed to be vegan, however not every single product in their catalogue is completely free of animal products. Keep an eye out for “vegan” written within the product description.

A post shared by Illamasqua (@illamasqua) on Jun 29, 2018 at 1:02am PDT

Illamasqua always has been and always will be proud to say they’re Vegan-certified by PETA. Their bestselling Beyond Powder highlighter is one of our faves, and it’s made from a completely vegan formulation. We knew we were onto a good thing.

It’s no secret that we’re obsessed with NYX Professional Makeup here at HQhair. Is NYX Professional Makeup vegan, though? Although the occasional product contains beeswax (check the label!), plenty of their products are suitable for vegans.

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